


Organ Trail

by lawpeii



Category: Original Work
Genre: Attempted Murder, Blood and Gore, F/M, Heavy Angst, Implied Sexual Content, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Kidnapping, M/M, Nuclear Warfare, Oregon Trail, Pain, Post-Zombie Apocalypse, Sad Ending, Single Survivor, Survival Horror, Survivor Guilt, Underage Drinking, Zombie Apocalypse, Zombie Hunters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-20
Updated: 2020-10-23
Packaged: 2021-03-09 00:13:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 11,629
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27165061
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lawpeii/pseuds/lawpeii
Summary: 6 boys on the Highschool soccer team must survive a sudden apocalypse in an old Station wagon and the only sanctuary is in Oregon. A tale of pain, and sadness and realizing you can lose it all in a matter of seconds in a nuked, and destroyed America.Who will make it through the Organ Trail?
Relationships: Chester Greene/Marron Alavarez, Frederick Martinez/Kennedy Smith
Kudos: 1





	1. desperado

CHAPTER ONE: desperado

Out of all the things to be doing on a Saturday, the boys of the Cody Highschool soccer team are sat in a pizza place, basically stuffing themselves with calories to load up on energy for their next match. Frederick, the team's captain, sat next to the school photographer Kennedy. A reserved person who never spoke more than a few words at a time. Frederick knew quite well that it was due to the other being too distracted by the world around him. Which made him internally smile as he noticed the blonde photographer stare intently at the bustling streets of Washington d.c. Through the large windows of the restaurant. He glanced in the same direction as Kennedy, discounting the plain outer world he saw in favor of peeking at the other instead. He let out a satisfied hum; it was more interesting to trace the small features on Kennedy with his eyes than listen to half the team talk trash in Spanish or ramble perversely about the waitress. 

Although, onto the other side of the table. Marron, the vice-captain of the team, was devouring his pizza that he was making audible slurping noises.

After he managed to get to the crust, he paused for a moment to ask. “Ya'know guys, do you think the next match is gonna be easy?”

Ricardo, who set his cup down as he tipped back in his chair, answered. “Of course, it will be since I’m the team’s best starter but, seriously, " he scrunched his nose and made a noise of disgust, "Eat your fucking food normally you pea-brained idiot.”  
A good majority of the jocks at the table suddenly burst into a series of laughter as Marron flipped Ricardo off, the other in return, kicking the male under the table as everyone continued to laugh loudly.

At the end of the table, Kennedy sighed as he twiddled with the paper from his straw, Freddy silenced his laughter as he turned his attention towards his boyfriend. He gave a sad smile as Kennedy focused intently on rolling the paper between his fingers into a ball before crushing it roughly. Freddy leaned closer towards him with concern, “Sorry, are they too loud? I know you don’t like stuff like this, and you don’t know the team that well, other than Marron and I.”

Kennedy glanced at the other people around the table before looking at Freddy. “No,” he flicked the crushed paper out of his fingers before leaning onto Freddy’s shoulder with another sigh. “Just a bit uncomfortable, I don’t get what the others are saying in Spanish and I can’t keep up with all the soccer lingo.” he leaned up and met eyes with Freddy. “Though, I like spending time with you and being in the same places you like being at, getting to know different sides of you makes me happy.” He said with a gentle smile.

Freddy felt his chest clench, and his face heats up at the notion. “Ah, no it’s - uh, it’s okay,” He let out a small laugh of embarrassment before continuing. “I like you being here with me too.” He said as he tried to calm down the feeling of sweat in his palms and the heat on his cheeks. Kennedy sneakily looped his fingers in between Freddy’s under the table and laughed as the other gave an embarrassed sigh, the two of them quietly grasping each other’s palms firmly as they fell into their little world.  
Marron on the other hand quickly lost interest in the conversation that was being held among the boys as he began to stare outside of the restaurant; thinking absentmindedly before noticing something strange about how the people milling about went from calmly walking down the streets to intense sprints, some knocking and pushing past others ahead of them. He felt worry bubble up inside of him as he wondered what was causing the sudden panic outside, using his time to look around the table and store for if anyone else was catching on. Cursing quietly to himself as he was seemingly the only one to have caught on, he felt the beats in his chest increase as his mind blankly turned up answers to ease his worry. 

He almost spoke up to the group before a man stumbled into the pizza restaurant, hand on his neck as blood leaked across his arm and shirt. “H-Help me, please!” he pleaded aloud. The soccer group and many other patrons erupted in an uproar of screams and confusion as the man stumbled into the shop before collapsing onto the ground as the wound from his neck increased its outpouring of blood. Random employees of the restaurant rushed towards the man with towels as one female employee held the man up as he writhed in pain, yelling and screaming in agony.  
It wasn’t long until the sounds of crashes and screaming outside of the store began to line up with the current situation as Marron noticed people started jumping on each other and digging themselves into human bodies. He felt the panic in him burst, “W-We have to leave!” he yelled aloud. The team and a few other patrons around the store looked at him with concern as the previous bloody man on the ground began to convulse as he started to growl and snarl aggressively. The employees that surrounded him quickly backed away as the prior employee holding onto the man with a cloth pressed into his neck panicking looked down at him before letting out a blood-curdling scream as the man reached out and sunk his mouth deep into her jawline, as his nails harshly dug into the skin on her neck, pressing inwards until blood was spurting from the poor woman left and right.

Everyone in the vicinity all breaking out into a chorus of screams as flight or fight responses quickly kicked in, and people started rushing out of any exit they could find as the female employee was left to pass into shock and be horrendously torn apart. The bloodied man quickly gave up on her in taste for the disturbed patrons around him as he lashed out, scratching and grabbing at whoever he could reach. The guy getting his hands on a male patrons’ ankle as the group of soccer boys managed to trip and push their ways outside of the restaurant chaos meeting eyes with the scene of more people biting, fighting and tackling others down as cars were speeding by on the road or recklessly crashing into buildings and people. A vast majority of the surrounding people all run in the same direction, making it a cue for all of the boys to follow within the mass hysteria.

As everyone separated into a race down the road, both Marron and Ricardo caught up next to Kennedy and Freddy as they all continued to run with the crowd of unbloodied people.

Freddy glanced at Marron with a panicked look. “Sh-Should we go hide somewhere?!” He yelled aloud. 

Marron quickly searched the area around them as he spotted people stumbling through rushing crowds or burning buildings and into the sea of people ahead of them.  
He felt like he could barely think as his heart raced a million miles an hour, and his breath came out in short spurts. He continued just to dodge and weave through the crowd, feeling a hand grasp at his, knowing in his heart it was Freddy. He began to fear everything around him as he kept looking for any possible way to separate from the overbearing and pushy crowd of people the group was among and feeling despotic of the soccer team looking at him to lead them. However, he honestly could not think of anywhere else to go but back home and away from everything.

Suddenly he was pulled back by four different tugs at the back of his hoodie as a speeding car racing opposite to the flow of people veered right past him, toppling six different people and scraping a few others, ultimately sending some unfortunate soul straight through the front windshield as it stubbed and folded into a brick housing complex.  
All the boys and a few others stopped dead in their panic to peer at the carnage. Freddy moved closer to Marron, wrapping his arm over the others as he startled him back into reality, "Marron d-don't look. We have to-'' there was a blood-curdling scream as a person near the accident struggled on the pavement with a limb hanging onto her by strings of ligaments. Another woman from the crowd rushed towards the other and panicking as he attended to the screaming woman before desperately calling out for help. 

Most, if not everyone from the crowd, responded by taking the opportunity to disperse and continue down the road leaving the shell-shocked patrons to stand and gawk at the scene before them. Kennedy moved along with Freddy in pushing Marron forward as he spotted a couple of people stumbling in their direction, not knowing if they were dead or alive.  
Marron nearly tipped over as his body and mind caught up with another, the others all looking about cautiously as the appointment of leadership fell onto him again. He looked down the street, spotting a nearby building set ablaze and the once rushing crowd turning fewer and fewer as they continued to lag further behind it.

"Marron!" Ricardo yelled aloud, calling the Male's attention. Before the other even had a chance to look back at the other thoroughly, he felt the back of his hair get scrunched up into a pull as Ricardo pushed his head forward. "Move! Don't bumble around like a fucking idiot! Those two on our left aren't right, and we can't sit here and become a happy meal!"  
Marron let out a noise of frustration as he clenched his jaw, shaking everyone off him. Without another word, Marron started up again, heading down the road, the others quickly following behind him. He simply raced down the road in a half fever, desperately scanning all of his sides at abandoned cars and shattered buildings, as quite a few people poured out from left and right to join in the mad dash down the road. As he continued down the road, a few people crashed into his side, making him notice how the other boys were finding trouble with other random people. They were getting closer to the highway leading out of the department area, which meant catching up to crowds of cars leaving and crowds of people slowing that process down. He glanced around himself, spotting the Honeydew hotel a bit behind them. With a quick turn around, let out a simple callout towards the hotel to the team. The boys immediately moved to shuffle past new waves of people who caught up from behind the already pressing crowd in front.  
Marron hopped over a bike rail as the rest of the group followed him toward the hotel, all of them roughly pushing their way through the automatic front doors as Marron seemingly knew his way down the first floor of the complex. Slowing his sprint down into a quick jog as they all continued down the hallway, feeling a bit somber as he looked back and noticed that other than his good friends barely any of the team he thought was following him were there behind him. He tried not to think about where they were as he pressed onwards, turning down another long hallway of rooms and towards the exit signs. “Where are we going!?” Freddy asked aloud. 

“We have to cut around that large crowd or else just get stuck with them,” He pushed into the fire exit door and stepped out into a back alley of the hotel as he shifted left and back into the main streets. “We’re just going home for now.” He said with finality before abruptly halting, a black truck racing past him on the road. He worryingly ran down the road as some people were rushing either towards the highway or now away from it. 

Marron crossed the road as people passed by the group, continuing further past the unsettled department stores, everyone attempting to ignore the rattling screams or cries echoing all around them as they ran towards a four-way intersection. Marron suddenly felt a heavy pull on his arm as Kennedy tugged his hoodie backward with a little warning. A bloodied female was quietly stumbling into view, the body twitching erratically as she looked about. Kennedy quickly pulled Marron into the automobile store as Freddy, Ricardo, Ramsay, and the two other boys followed them in. Once inside, all of them moved close to a snack shelf and crouched. Kennedy looked carefully out of the door, “It seems it didn’t notice us,” he then briefly glanced around the store area, only taking a few steps away from the group before crouching down next to Marron. “The place looks empty too; I think we should take a break, but we shouldn’t stay for too long.” Marron nodded in agreement, turning to Freddy, who was sitting with a worried look, knees drawn into his chest with Ramsay leaning into him. Everyone looked so scared, and he was too, but he knew it was not the time to be afraid like he was earlier. 

He placed a gentle hand on Freddy’s shoulder. “Hey, Fred, can you try calling your mom? See if the line can get through, we have to make sure they’re okay.”  
Freddy nodded his head quickly as he scrambled to pull out his phone, relaxing his legs as he dialed his mom. Everyone else suddenly pulled out their phones and attempted to dial their families as well, Marron keeping to Freddy and glancing between the group and the door as he listened to Freddy’s phone dial tone ring off for a few moments before it went through a resounding “Mom?” sounding off from Freddy as the male desperately listened to the receiver. “Are you alright?” He asked cautiously. Marron could hear some words go through in Spanish before Freddy responded in the same tongue. “Yes, I have Marron with me. We saw it all too, are you guys somewhere safe? Please don’t be outside..” His mother responded to his questions, Freddy’s features easing into relief and making Marron relax as well. 

“We’re someplace safe for now, but I’m glad you guys are alright,” Freddy listened to his mother for a moment as he glanced at Marron, “Your Mamá is with mine, but your papá went to pick up a family friend down the road. They said he only left a few minutes ago,” Marron frowned as Freddy smiled at him and leaned in closer. “We both know that he’ll be alright, and you know my mamá will take care of your mamá; it’ll be okay, Marron.” He said gently before focusing on the phone again, Marron feeling the tensity in his shoulders dissipate. “Yes, we understand. We’ll be there soon; please take care of yourselves; we promise to come. Love you, mamá.” Then Freddy hung up.  
“You guys are lucky,” Ricardo commented from the other side, he was tossing some of his things out from his backpack. “I was left on the dial, could only get my texts through.” Ramsay and the other boys mumbled in agreement. Marron let out a sigh as he glanced at Kennedy by his side, the other looking pensively at his phone. “How about you, Ken?” He asked.  
“No response yet, but they’ve been read. I’m sure my mom is just busy.” Marron patted his shoulder, “I’m sure she’s safe too.” Kennedy smiled at the notion. “Thanks, I’m sure she is too, being the kind of person that she is.” He let out a breathy chuckle as Ricardo shuffled about and stood up. With his bag facing the front of his body, he reached behind him and tossed a bag of potato chips inside, “Well, now that we’ve all settled our businesses let’s see what we can scrounge together and head back out. We can’t afford to dawdle about.” He spoke nonchalantly before wandering down the other side of the aisle, picking and tossing snacks into his backpack.  
After seeing this, the other two boys, in the end, dug out their items from their bags and also stood up to take things from the store. Marron quietly felt at his fanny pack and sighed as he knew his bag was too small for anything to fit in it. Freddy and he both then turned to Kennedy, who was already dumping some receipts and papers out onto the floor. He caught the stares of the two boys and put on a small smile. “I have space for some stuff in my satchel, so you guys can just tell me what you’d like, and I’ll put it in.” They both lit up with smiles and thanked Kennedy, who chuckled in response. 

All the boys then stood up, Ramsay continuing to hold onto Freddy’s arm as Marron stretched his arms out in front of him. “Well, I could definitely go for a good drink, “ He glanced at Kennedy with a certain look. “I’m sure you know what Fred likes, so I’ll leave him to you.” Kennedy felt heat set into his cheeks and looked away, Marron smiling widely before wandering off. Freddy and Ramsay looked at Kennedy, who finished moving his journal and film into a single pocket. “I’ll go get you guys some things, are you two going to wait here?” Freddy and Ramsay responded in affirmation, Kennedy giving a smile before walking towards a different aisle.  
Marron let out a breath through puffed up cheeks as he pulled open a refrigerator door, noting how the fridge lights and cooling system were still working. He figured electricity and lighting would have been knocked out, but then again, everyone just used their phone, so maybe not. He glanced at the bottles of juices before bending down to grab a few Gatorade bottles, two of them being white, his favorite. He then glanced at the soda fridges on his right and walked over to them, staring at the monsters before reaching in and grabbing two cans.  
With full arms, he turned back around the store to find Kennedy but couldn’t see the guy. He figured the other was bent down, looking at something, idly spotting the front desk of the car repair shop on his right before hearing a loud sound and bang ring off to his left. He quickly turned his attention towards the noise and walked down the row of fridges before noticing Ricardo squatting over his bag, dumping a box of long slim jims into his backpack.  
“What the hell, you're going to have a heart attack with that much garbage.” He grimaced aloud.  
Ricardo looked up at him and gave him a hard look. “Like I give a shit about your opinion, take your drinks and pussy pouch somewhere else.”  
Marron swore at him in Spanish before stalking off, the other responding in kind with a box of peanuts flying past Marron’s side.  
After a grumble of profanity spilled from his mouth, Marron continued forward in his investigation, walking towards the attached pizza restaurant as he adjusted his hold on the drinks in his arms. With a reflective look, he non-cautiously walked into the front of the joint, quickly seeing a cleared-out kitchen. He scrunched his brows together as he wondered what the sound was and where it could have come from if not there. He took one more look at the back before turning around, narrowing his focus as he stood still and looked for Kennedy among the aisles of food and convenience store items.

His eyes scanned the area carefully, his hearing failing him as a loud clatter rang off behind him. Marron’s body responded all too slowly as a massive set zombie stumbled into him, the two of them toppling over as Marron let out a startling yell. His hand was coming up to hold back the one arm the bloodied male had, Marron’s other arm having caught the guy by the neck, keeping him at a comfortably uncomfortable distance from biting or touching him. “G-Guys! Someone!” He called out as loudly as he could, noticing his sodas nearby he struggled to unhinge one of his legs from under the weight of the undead man above him. As he felt his leg twist enough to slip out, he quickly lifted it and pushed it against the guy’s abdomen as he moved the arm he had against his neck over to grasp at a soda. With his eyes kept on the other, he felt around for a drink, grasping blindly off to his side before his fingertips brushed against the smooth cylindrical surface of a Monster. 

He desperately grabbed at it and harshly slammed the drink into the side of the dead man’s torn up face. The attack backfired on Marron as the tab on the can broke and fizzed onto Marron’s face, shooting directly into his eyes, and making the grip and stance that he held on the other falter. Marron felt the gross heat of the man’s snarling breath all too close to his face. He desperately yelled out as he felt the other beginning to overpower him. A great sense of fear hit him heavily as his eyes burned from the spill, and his defense hit its breaking point. Suddenly he heard a resounding clang as the body above him faltered and rolled off to his side.  
Marron instinctively let the body fly off as he turned onto his other side, facing away from, presumably, the dead male. His arms blindly reached out as he crawled forward and hopefully, apart from the human eating human. As he poorly scrambled across the floor, he could hear bone crunching smashes as something metallic contacted the dead person multiple times. Squishy and wet noises spitting onto the floor before a high-pitched squeal sounded off from whatever was being used as a brutal bat. Marron quickly dipped his head into his sleeve as he roughly rubbed the liquid and burning sensations out of his eyes, blinking several times as he focused on the vision of Kennedy standing over the now overly pulverized male. 

A fire extinguisher in hand, dented at the end as the hose connecter whistled out the contents of the extinguisher. Marron noticed the sunken head of the male, hoping that the guy was dead after Kennedy’s concaving attack. The other male wiped something off his face with his sleeve before leaving the extinguisher on the floor to gasp and squeal its contents into the open air. After stumbling backward, Kennedy turned towards Marron and bent down to pull him up from the story the other following his motions and standing up briskly as they both shifted out of the conjoined store and back into the convenience store where Ricardo walked up to them with what looked like an item blocker bar from the checkout belts. “Holy shit, you guys okay?” he asked.  
“Yeah,” Kennedy responded a bit breathily as Marron simply nodded. “Why was that guy back there? Did you see more of them, Marron? How did that happen?” Kennedy then asked in rounds. Marron wiped his hands on his pants as a feeling of stickiness stuck to them. “No, I just heard a sound and went to go check it out. I thought it might have been Darren and Kiersten, but I didn’t see them and was caught off guard.”  
Kennedy let out a heavy sigh as Marron looked at Ricardo. “Do you know where they’re at? I know they went down to this end with you,” he asked.  
Ricardo tapped the bar he had against his shoulder. “Nah fuck if I knew I could guess what happened.” He aimed the bar at Marron and then towards the attached pizza joint. “They probably ran into the fuck that was in there and jetted out, did you see a door in there? Or maybe their corpses could end up walking around here any second.”

Marron worryingly glanced back as he immediately noticed a door. “Maybe.” He mumbled ominously before he felt Kennedy push at his back. “Then let’s just take it as a warning and get the hell out of here,” He looked over at the entrance, his eyes widening as his mouth opened in mock surprise. “Oh, my shit, where the hell is Frederick and Ramsay?!” The other two boys suddenly looked over, noticing the entrance that they came in was completely clear of the two males. Marron cursed aloud as he rushed over to the front, Kennedy, and Ricardo following in tow. 

The boys, as mentioned earlier, were digging around, completely unaware of the events occurring on the other end of the store. Freddy used the flashlight on his phone to peer around the dust fallen room. He was noticing nothing of interest: an old computer, a few photos of an employee’s family, and some random papers. Ramsay walked over to the desk and picked up the half-ripped picture, the only contents of it being a man smiling. He assumed that maybe the other people in the torn off part of the photo were dead, and the person took what he could to remember them by but, he wondered why the person left his image behind. Freddy began digging through office drawers, making loud clanking, and screeching sounds as he opened them. He noticed that there was not much in them either as he glided his hand across Vanilla folders with tax documents and bills, and more useless papers.

They both decided to give up and exit through the back to see if maybe there was a clear way out that did not lead directly into any public streets. Freddy glanced around on one end of the area as Ramsay detached from Freddy and wandered towards a fire exit. He unconsciously pushed the handle of the door without even caring to read the labels on it. Which was not a good idea?  
Freddy jumped harshly from the loud ringing that sounded off on all sides of the building as the push triggered the emergency fire alarm that was connected to the door. Ramsay and Freddy quickly looked at each other in fear as the other half of the boys in the group ran into the back and immediately saw them both looking like a pair of guilty dogs who just tore up the couch. However, the moment was forcefully short-lived as the sound of gurgling and screaming emitted from the front doors of the store. 

Mangled bodies flooding through the automated doors, bloodied people instantly trying to find the cause of the loud noises. Marron hurriedly shoved Kennedy and Ricardo forward as he called out, “Get the hell out now! GO, GO!” Ricardo almost lost his footing as they all stumbled out into a back alley and began to run towards the main road before Marron pulled at Ricardo's jacket as they saw more of what they deemed ‘screamers’ rushing around the corner and quickly pouring into the tunnel neck of the alley.  
A loud shriek emitting from one as the boys desperately stumbled and shuffled into dead sprints in the opposite direction. All of them felt a deep rush of anxiety as they rounded a corner behind another store and took a swift turn down another tunneling alley, splitting left into a wider area before halting abruptly as a large fence blocked them from the edges of the road, their only exit being the prior way they came from. He was making them now trapped between a wall and their end, any chance of going backward, meaning walking into the large crowd of undead behind them. 

Freddy anxiously bounced on his feet, shaking his hands as he glanced around him. Both Marron and Kennedy also looked for another way as they heard the distant taps of sprinting screamers becoming less remote. Freddy let out a heavy breath as he stared at the spiked tops of the fence; honestly, he just wanted to get out alive, be with his mother, leave this place, he didn't want to be among any of this. With great desperation overbearing his senses, he blindly jumped onto the fence and rushed up the small spacings in it as the others followed in suit. Kennedy and Ricardo briskly grasped their way up as Marron hastily helped Ramsay up onto the fence before hopping onto the fencing himself, slipping his way up as throngs of screamers began to round the corner towards them.

Marron pushed all of his limbs and muscles to move just a bit faster as screamers nearly met his feet, the former building up at the bottom of the fencing either reaching upwards or forwards, the great few of them pushing into the fence making it shake vigorously as Freddy carefully folded over the ribbed top of the fence and took only a few steps down before jumping off of it, stumbling into a landing.

Kennedy safely joined him after tossing his bag down into Freddy’s arm. Ricardo also landed next to them before slipping onto his butt with a resounding noise of pain. Ramsay suddenly let out a shout as his jacket got caught onto the spikes, his leg poorly placed over the other side as he tugged at his clothing. Freddy moved forward to try and help before Marron also screamed alarmingly as a screamer managed to grab the back of his foot, quickly gaining a better grip on his left ankle as Marron struggled to tug his foot away. Kennedy and Freddy then both looked at each other before breaking up between Marron and Ramsay.

Freddy reached up the fence with his arms out. “Ramsay, lose the jacket and jump, we don’t have time!” He called out, the other desperately looking down at the other with small tears running down his face as he quickly struggled out of his jacket, his feet stumbling and catching themselves in the holes of the fence. His body practically toppled off of the fence and crash-landed heavily into Freddy, the both of them collapsing onto the ground as Freddy moved to look at Kennedy. The other male having picked up Ricardo’s item blocker bar from the ground and using it to stab at the arm pulling Marron down, who yelped and pulled upwards.  
Kennedy gritted his teeth as he did his best to shove both the bar and his hand in between the fence, successfully knocking the screamer that was pulling at Marron backward, his attention having no seconds to focus on the other as he quickly snatched his hand back from multiple biters that were falling forward to nibble at him. The sudden push towards Kennedy’s hand caused the fence to shake violently, Marron losing his grip and balance on the fence as he tried to avoid the spikes. His arm harshly scraping against a rib, the movement of his body toppling him over the fence making his skin catch and drag against the metal. Marron fell roughly onto the pavement, knocking all sensations out of the left side of his body as he landed on his arm. 

Ricardo reached down and pulled Marron up who breathed staggeringly as he pressed his aggressively bleeding arm into his hoodie. Freddy, Kennedy, and Ramsay all standing up and running towards the opening of the road. The five of them skirting in front of the abandoned cars in the road to cross it, running up the street towards the three-way junction. They curved onto the bridge that connected into the outskirts of the city and slowed down into a jog. Marron huffed excessively as his arm was starting to numb, the burning and dull throngs of pain worrying him as a loud screech rang out. A speeding black Honda revving steadily towards them, all of the boys being minorly out of the way besides him who made a face of shock as the car seemingly drove towards him directly. He stumbled backward as the car suddenly hit its brakes, Marron barely avoiding his legs getting taken out as he took steps back, the front bumper stopping just in front of his knees. 

Marron put on a scowl as he lifted his leg and began kicking the front of the car. "Stupid fuck! What the fuck!” A honk from the car startled his attack on the vehicle. Marron put his leg down and looked at the driver, his expression turning into surprise as he saw who was at the helm. "What-"  
"Stop kicking my car dumbass." Came a smooth voice as the door held open, a ginger-haired male stepping out.  
Marron scowled at him. “Why the fuck are you here Chester.” He said with an emphasis towards the other, his arm digging further into his hoodie. Chester looked at his bloody arm and the others who all seemed equally surprised at his presence. He let out a sigh as he dragged a hand through his hair, leaning onto his car door frame. “You really think I wouldn’t come find you all after what’s been going on?” he said with an air of annoyance.  
Freddy let out a relieving laugh, “Well, I’m happy you’re here now Chester. It’s good to see that you’re okay.” He said kindly before taking a step forward, his face shifting into a pained jolt as he immediately felt a sharp sting in his right ankle.  
Kennedy quickly leaned into him and supported his body. “What’s wrong?” He asked worryingly. 

Freddy shook his ankle in the air. “I think I might’ve sprained it earlier.”  
Ramsay took a step forward and tugged at Freddy’s sweater. “I’m sorry, it’s because I fell on you right? Sorry.”  
Freddy gave him a smile. “It’s fine Ramsay, besides,” He looked over at Marron who looked a bit feverish now. “I think we should worry more about Marron’s arm.”  
Chester gave Marron a hard look as he leaned into his car, the sound of the trunk popping open sounding off as Ricardo walked over to Marron and pushed him to sit on the hood of Chester’s car. Kennedy and Ramsay helping Freddy gently limp towards the backseat of the car. The driver met up with the boys at the front, a duffel bag in hand. He unzipped it to reveal a collage of bagged wraps, ointments, medicines, tapes, and scissors. Knowingly pulling out a wrap, Marron looked at him with a frown. “This one isn’t for you.” Chester said plainly, moving to Freddy to tend to his ankle first as Ricardo pulled at the sleeve of his hoodie. “You should probably take this off, or,” He pointed out the extremely dark redness splotched into the cloth wrapped around Marron’s forearm. “Can you try taking it off?” He asked.

Marron felt nothing but a dull pain in his arm, the top part of his head aching with heat as he carefully pulled his pack off of him before cautiously pulling the cloth of his hoodie away from his tear, the sound of him peeling away his hoodie matching the gooeyness of his clotted blood clenching in between his hoodie and open wound. It seemed to stop running blood from it. In fact, now that he was looking at it, it was not as deep as he thought it was but, he still wondered why it felt so numb. Ricardo made a disgusted sound as he quickly turned away, apologizing that he could not look at him any longer. Marron understood his sentiment, he didn’t want to look at his own arm either.

Chester came back and placed a hand over Marron’s arm. “Stop pulling at it.” He ordered as Marron moved to use his arm to prop himself up, letting Chester pull out a brown bottle and a thick tissue out. The ginger looking at Marron, who was letting out heated breaths as he stared back. Chester held out his hand and pulled the side of Marron’s hood up to his mouth. “Bite this, I have to disinfect your arm.”

Marron’s eyes widened as he clenched his teeth over the cloth of his hood, his breathing shifting out of his nose more rapidly as Chester tugged on some blue gloves and prepped the tissue with what Marron now recognized as hydrogen peroxide. The other then used one arm to steadily grip Marron’s wrist, the patient’s breath increasing as he watched Chester hold the tissue of peroxide above his wound. “On three?” Chester said aloud. Marron let out a long breath as he tried to harden his senses, waiting for Chester to start. 

“Alright,” Chester said calmly, Marron felt his breaths come out in short spurts as he waited impatiently. “One.” And Chester pressed the cloth into Marron’s arm and with a rough press, dragged the tissue across Marron’s wound. The other screaming into the cloth in his mouth as immediate throngs of pain ran through his arm. His legs instinctively kicking outwards in response to the pain, Chester sidestepping the reaction as he quickly folded the tissue over and onto a cleaner side and ran it over Marron’s forearm again to dry it faster. Tossing the tissue onto the ground once it had no more folds left to be considered clean.  
Marron sat still with his head ducked into his right shoulder as he tried to ignore the throbbing feeling in his arm. Chester pulled out a needle and thread and lipped the thread through the hole of the needle as Marron glanced at him, his face contorted in pain before shifting into shock. “It - It’s not that bad Chester!” He said in a frightened voice. Chester continued to prep the needle as he pulled a long line of thread out, cutting the segmented portion off. “It’s about two inches in length, jagged from what looks like a cut. It’s not a scratch from an undead let alone a bite.” 

Marron frowned at him, Chester pulling out a tube labeled ‘Lidocaine’ as he squeezed a dollop onto his finger. “I almost hit you because of how bloodied you looked, I thought you were turned already.” He commented as he rubbed the ointment around the edges of Marron’s gash.  
“What? That is not a good reason, I don’t look like those things you asshole.” Marron said with a taste of anger. Chester set a roll of tape, a clump of gauze, and a small wad of tissue onto the surface of his car next to Marron as he clenched his wrist again. “Be grateful I didn’t actually kill your dumbass.”  
Marron scowled at the other as Kennedy approached them. “Are you guys - oh, Woah.” He said aloud, looking at Chester poising a needle over Marron’s cut. Kennedy walked onto the other side of them and held his hand out. “Do you want to squeeze my hand Marron? This looks like it's about to hurt.”

“Bite your hood.” Chester said plainly as he hovered the needle over one end of Marron’s cut. The patient tugged his now wet hood back into his mouth as he leaned away. Kennedy stood quietly and watched the procedure with worry as Chester pushed the tip of the needle into Marron’s skin, the other wincing painfully as Chester worked his way as quickly and as accurately as he could.  
Marron felt a few tears prick at his eyes as he looked down at his wound, surprised that it didn’t hurt as much as he thought it would, feeling more pained by the sensation of the needle piercing and pinching his skin as the thread dragged through him and pulled his cut together. Chester expertly cut and tied each individual suture together, closing up the fourth tie before he lightly dabbed at the wound with the tissue, and propped the gauze on top, using both his hands to gently loop some tape around Marron’s arm. 

Marron not noticing how much calmer his breathing was now compared to the disinfecting earlier. Kennedy stared at Chester then and at him cutting the end of tape apart and securing it onto Marron. “You really know how to do this well.” He commented.  
Chester’s brows furrowed as he scowled, using his thumbs to press the tape onto Marron. “Shut up.” He said without reason, Kennedy looking mildly perplexed as he glanced at Marron who simply gave him an absent response.  
Chester let out a loud sigh as he dumped his gloves onto the ground and packed up his duffel bag of medicinal care. Lugging the bag over his shoulder as he walked towards his trunk. “Get the fuck in the car.” He spat out as he walked away.

Ricardo followed behind him, leaving Marron to poorly take off his green hoodie. Feeling disgusted at how his blood had seeped through onto his yellow shirt underneath. Kennedy stood there with his arms crossed. “I seriously hate that guy. Why is he here?” He asked Marron. The other gently tapped at the tape on his arm. “He said he came to find us, as far as I care it might be better to drive than run around like earlier.” He glanced backwards as Chester slammed his trunk closed. “We don’t have to stay with him.” He said lastly, before leaning off of the hood and tossing his hoodie off to the side of the bridgeway. “Let’s get in.” He said to Kennedy as he readjusted his pack around his shoulders, both of them moving to the otherside of the car. Marron loaded into the passenger seat as Kennedy squeezed into the back with everyone else, Chester seating himself back behind the wheel, starting his car back up as everyone closed their doors and strapped themselves in as best as they could. 

Finally, the boys had a moment to breathe. Freddy let out a long sigh as he leaned tiredly against Kennedy who adjusted awful in his seat as he barely had any room in the car. Ramsay practically sat in Ricardo’s lap, which honestly didn’t bother the other since Ramsay was rather short and small. Compromising instead, Ramsay hooked his legs over Ricardo’s and pressed his feet against the door. The both of them settling in awkwardly nonetheless as Chester shifted the gears of his car to drive and floored it as the car roared alive and raced down the exit junction, Chester taking a veering turn into an off ramp as he weaved past a few cars. Not much having been piled up as most citizens had already left their cars abandoned in the inner parts of the city or up at the main highways on the opposite end.  
Marron leaned over and quietly tapped at the radio button pulling out his phone as he listened in, wanting to know if the news had gotten to any of this yet. He adjusted the frequency to a station he knew his mother listened to a lot for reports on the weather and just constant news, only playing random orchestral songs in between announcements. To his surprise a static-y blurb sounded off through the radio.

“By order of the American government, they have issued a Civil Danger warning for the Virginia and Maryland area. If you are in this area seek shelter now and bring food and water to last you 14 days. You are also to bring a battery-powered radio and family members to your shelter. This broadcast is for the local area of Washington D.C. if you are not in this area tune to a radio station for your area. In recent news, there have been active reports of aggressive and hostile figures seen attacking the locals in the Washington D.C. area and by order of the police force, they advise that if in contact you must run away to the nearest location of safety. Citizens are aware of traffic and stay inside as it is currently unknown what the official trigger is concerning these hostile figures. Once again, by order of the American government, they have issued a Civil Danger warning for the Virginia and Maryland area. Do not leave your homes they are - . . Then radio silence.

Marron tapped at the radio button to try and get the message to continue before Chester slapped at his hand, turning the radio off. Marron let out a huff before he caught Freddy’s stare, the other looking at him with great unease as Marron could tell what his dear friend was thinking about. He turned back forward as he thought about his parents and Freddy’s, he closed his eyes and prayed that they were safe and were continuing to be as it seemed there was no way anywhere was safe now. 

He glanced at Chester who silently looked forward. He felt his arm before opening his mouth. “Do you know where you’re going? The rest of us were planning on going -”  
“Home? Not a chance. I had a hell of a time already just trying to get here, roads are either blocked by cars, bodies, or thoseundead.” He explained smoothly. Marron frowned at the notion, glancing back at Freddy who was replicating his own expression. “So, there’s no way to go home?” Freddy chimed in.  
Chester looked at him through the rearview mirror. “I’m sorry Freddy, I would do anything to bring you home, but I really mean it when I say that we should just head out of state instead of going back into town.”

That made everyone quiet down into a pool of deep thoughts. Chester continued to drive steadily as Marron looked to the side, wondering why the other was so prepared and calm when hell was breaking loose. To him, he was so damn terrified that he could barely think. Negative thoughts stabbed into him harshly now that they were left to follow Chester’s plans and head out of state. He let out a long sigh as he laid his head against the side of the car door window, the afternoon sky bright and open in comparison to his own feelings.


	2. losing it

CHAPTER TWO: Losing it

Marron adjusted the seatbelt across his chest as he glanced at the side mirror, he had never seen the roads so empty. It set a sort of uneasiness into his soul, but not enough to shake him really. The car had also never been so silent, he noticed Kennedy looking plainly out of the window as he decided to talk. “Uh, everyone okay?”  
There was a noticeable silence taking its place in the car, worming into Marron’s crinkled smile as he thought of something else to say quickly, anything.  
“What did you see?” Chester said in a low tone, his eyes fixed on the road ahead.  
Marron glanced back at the side mirror and saw Kennedy still looking outside. He then looked at the passing trees ahead of him before turning his gaze to his knees. “A lot.” He then responded simply.  
“There was,” Freddy began, Marron only moving his eyes in the direction of his voice. “There was so much, I can’t - I don’t know what to say…” He trailed off with a worn out and somber expression. Marron glanced at the mirror again, seeing Kennedy now nuzzled into Freddy with a concerned look in his eyes, he was worrying about Freddy it seemed.  
Chester glanced at the scene in the rearview mirror, knuckling his grip on the steering wheel a bit harder.  
Marron let out a soft sigh, trying not to make the dense air in the car feel heavier. He heard Ramsay tap his feet against the interior of the door. “Well, since Freddy gave such a half-assed answer,” Ricardo started as he rubbed a hand against Ramsay’s shins. “Simply put, people started eating each other like in the zombie movies. We followed Marron outta town and then you ran into us. So maybe the government fucked up and we’re all fucked now yeah?” he concluded.  
Marron looked over at Chester who held a poker face, blank in expression but hands whitened even paler than he usually was.  
“First, apologize to Freddy, and second, you can’t just say it like that Ricardo, we don’t really know what’s going on for sure.” Kennedy sounded off.  
Marron adjusted his body as he leaned to his left, turning his back as he faced the back-seat occupants who all looked uncomfortably crammed into the back. He felt a bit bad that he wanted to laugh at how squished together they all were when he had leg room for days sitting in the passenger seat. He looked at Ricardo who was scowling off to the side as he let out a mumbled apology. 

“What should we do now though?” Ramsay asked cautiously.  
Marron looked over at Chester who continued to look unphased. “Chester?” The other did not look at him. “Do you know where you’re going? If it is out of state, where?” He asked. The driver continued to seemingly ignore him. “Chester? Are you okay?” Freddy asked. The figure in question suddenly started up in his seat and held a small smile as he investigated the rearview mirror. “Yes, I am. Thank you for your concern Freddy.” He said a bit plainly. Marron felt more unease bubble into him at the sudden change. Everyone glanced at Freddy to keep going. “Is your family alright? Do you know where we’re going?”  
Chester held his gaze on the rearview mirror. “Of course, they’re fine! In fact, they must be having fun off in Bermuda right now.”  
“The triangle?” Marron interjected.  
“North Carolina.” Chester answered curtly as his eyes twitched in annoyance at Marron before shifting back to his prior happy expression as he looked at Freddy through the mirror. “I also believe we are going west, I heard from some people I passed by on my way to you that there are quarantine zones already being set in place to create safe zones for the public.”  
“To keep in or keep out? Doesn’t that just mean this shit is happening everywhere? How can we count on the military now?” Ricardo quickly asked.  
Chester held his mouth closed; Marron wondered why he wouldn’t answer the other. Though he concluded that maybe Ricardo meant it for everyone as Kennedy spoke up. “Honestly, it’s probably those shelters that the broadcast talked about. We can’t stay out in the open forever so going to one of those safety zones would be best.”  
“We should let everyone else know, Freddy can you text your mom? I’ll message my dad.”  
Everyone in the car, except Ricardo who was bound under Ramsay and Chester who was driving, collectively pulled out their phones and tapped out messages.  
Freddy piped up. “They’re a bit slow since we must be out of the service area now on the highway. Mamá wrote that they heard the message over the TV and are waiting on your dad to come back before leaving.” He looked up at Marron who was visibly frowning at his phone. “Will he come back soon?”  
Marron repeatedly opened his mouth before closing it. “I-” He said before a look of surprise overtook him and he let a small smile grow on his face. “I missed some of his messages earlier, he ran into the same things we did but managed to get his friend out of his house though it seems the guy lost his family.” His expression delved into a neutral look as he continued. “They’re actually almost back to the house, they heard the same stuff through the radio and are going to pick up our Mamá‘s now.”  
Freddy lit up at that and typed out a message into his phone. “I’ll let them know then, maybe they can all meet us up at the shelter!” He said excitedly. “Chester, do you know where the shelter is?”  
Chester looked happily into the mirror. “No clue! I simply know of their existence, that’s why we’re heading westward.”  
Marron squinted. “What? How could you not know where we’re going?” He asked.  
Chester’s smile held still as his eye deadpanned. “I said I heard about them in passing, have you been listening to me at all? You should learn to pay attention.”  
Marron frowned at his words, Freddy noticed the tension and let out a shy laugh, “Well, no worries. I’ll just let them know that we’re going west with you.”

Chester held a wider smile as he looked at Freddy. “If you think about it, the TV broadcasts should have had more information. So, you shouldn’t need to worry Freddy.” He said before focusing on the road again. Marron eyed him warily as he questioned the whole interaction, feeling a bit of relief in his suspicion when he also saw Kennedy scowling at the driver in a questioning manner.  
“Well, nothing left to do but wait and see I guess.” Ricardo said in the back as he left out a sigh.  
“Will we have enough gas to make it to the next state?” Ramsay asked warily to Chester. Everyone waited a bit as the driver held his silence.

“Chess?” Freddy called out.

“Yes, we have a bit over half. We’ll be okay.” The other finally answered.  
Everyone in the back exchanged glances with Freddy, Marron watching Kennedy pull Freddy closer to himself as silence settled into the car again. He looked over at Chester who now held a blank expression as he gazed absently at the road ahead of him. With one more look at Ricardo who just shrugged in response, he readjusted in his seat for the long journey.

Marron blearily opened his eyes as he shifted up in his seat, feeling his neck stretch from the way he craned it during his nap. “Where?” He asked questioningly as he collected himself. His eyes still felt heavy.  
“Night” was all Chester said to answer his question as he continued his drive. Marron noticed that the other was in a more relaxed posture now, one hand on the lower bar of the steering wheel as the other was propped against the interior of the door frame, his body a bit slumped into his seat as his legs were pulled inwards, the car probably on cruise control. 

Marron let out a loud yawn as he arched his back to stretch it a bit. He looked ahead of him and connected what Chester meant when he said night, seeing as the sun was now beyond set and the starry night sky was out with a crescent moon shining. He turned around to check on the lump of boys in the back seat, smiling at the scene of the four males all clumped together and sleeping on top of one another. He let out a breathy chuckle as he turned back around, focusing on the dark road ahead of them, the only light coming from the car headlights.  
“Are we good on gas?”  
“.....”  
Silence again, Marron blew a sigh out of his mouth, his eyes still feeling heavy. He tried to peer over at the dashboard, noting how they were now below half a tank. His gaze naturally falling onto Chester who boringly looked ahead of himself. He stared at the way his bangs fell just a bit past his eyes, his normally bright blue eyes now darkened from the night setting, lips held shut. He let his eyes wander further as he noted how Chester was wearing a light blue sweater, the collar loose and showing off his pale skin be speckled with freckles. His signature cross necklace sitting atop of his chest. Marron dragged his eyes listlessly down Chester’s arm that was calmly holding the bottom cusp of the wheel.  
“What are you looking at.”  
Marron startled internally as he quickly looked back up at Chester who was still looking forward. He felt a bit of heat touch his face, probably from being caught,  
“uhm.” He tried to pull something together.  
“Still tired?” Chester answered for him.  
Marron let out a hum in agreement, turning forward and focusing on the edges of the road skirting past the car at a hurried speed. 

Time passed; Marron didn’t know how long but less plains were passing them by so he guessed they were nearing one of the Virginias that bordered Maryland where they were coming from. He pursed his lips as memories of all the horrible things he saw resurfaced in his mind. He tried not to shake from the fear building up inside of him, thinking about all of the torn up people, the ones screaming for help, crying in pain, or racing at them with bloodied hands. He clasped his fingers together as he told himself a silent prayer. Opening them again to see a light in the distance.  
“What? Hey Chester, do you see that in the distance?”  
Chester did not answer again so he just presumed that the other did. “We should pull over, that could be a group of people.” Marron said aloud.  
“And then what? We have no space left, what could we possibly do for other people.” Chester said in a tone a tad too annoyed.  
Marron laid back in his chair, grumbling at how logical the driver was. He settled on just watching the light run closer towards them as Chester raced further down the road at a steady pace. His attention startled awake only when they were a few meters close to the pulled over vehicle and he could see some people standing in the foreground of the dark night. “Hey, isn’t he standing too much on the road? Move to the side a bit more.”  
Nothing came from Chester as Marron warily held still and watched them pull closer, he was itching with worry. He gave Chester his worried and slightly frustrated look as he began to feel more and more antsy.  
“Hey-” Marron sounded off as Chester simply looked ahead, the both of them suddenly seeing the darkened person from before suddenly stumble further into the road.  
“Chess, watch out!” Marron called out as he leaned over and tugged the wheel towards himself, effectively swerving the car aggressively to the side. Chester startled at the action as he tried to pull Marron off the wheel. Only succeeding to barely have control left enough as the car started to gravitate onto its side. All the sudden motions shaking everyone in the back awake as Marron and Chester yelled in response to the car speedily toppling over from the curve of the downwards hill that Marron jerked the wheel towards. Sudden impacts and jolts jostling the group of boys left and right. Marron felt his body shift heavily and impact straight into the glass on his right.  
…. It was deafening. Marron shakily opened his eyes as a pang throbbed at the right side of his body. He lifted his arms for them to effortlessly fall upwards. Upwards? He looked up to see the roof of the car facing towards him, his body barely tucked into his seatbelt as gravity pulled him closer to the top.  
“What the fuck?” one of the boys in the back said, Marron could barely breathe, anxiety setting in as he realized what just happened. The sound of a seatbelt clicking on his left startled him to look over at Chester who harshly slumped onto the roof before his body adjusted in relation to his door and sounds of glass clinking and tinkling as the other was roughly kicking it.  
As the male continued his assault Marron cautiously unbuckled his own belt and fell a bit hard onto the surface of the roof. Rather than follow in Chester’s suit he tried at the handle, feeling confused when the handle moved but the door did not. Just as he noticed that the door was simply locked, he heard a stiff shattering sound as he looked over to see Chester crawling feet first out of his side of the car. He called out his name but was met with silence as he turned his attention back to his side of the car. He noticed the glass in his window was halfway gone.

“Is- Is everyone okay? Are we alright?” Came Freddy’s voice from the back.  
“Are we dead?” Ramsay stuttered out, probably scared to death.  
“No, but if I didn’t hold onto your skinny ass with no seatbelt you could have gone through the damn door.” Ricardo said non-reassuringly, Ramsay spewing out a shaky “thank you” as Kennedy piped up about something.  
Marron ignored the rambling in the back seats as he pressed the ‘unlock’ button on the door, his hand about to pull the handle before the door was opening all on its own. Clinks of glass from his window fell as his momentary shock turned into dismay as Chester reached in and roughly grabbed at his arm and shirt, harshly pulling him out of the passenger seat.  
He could barely question the other as he let out random sounds of confusion, his hands reaching out and grasping at the ones that were around his arm and shirt as he was dragged out onto the grass his breath hitching as he was forcefully lifted up by his arms and then pinned against the exterior of the back seat door by the collar of his shirt. His arms barely coming up in time to block Chester’s fist colliding with his left cheek. Marron let out a loud yell as knocks and clicks sounded off from the interior of the car, the boys inside trying to stop what was going on outside.  
“You stupid fucking prick.” Chester spoke with a slurred growl.  
Marron let out a gasp as a splitting burn seared into his head, his cheek ringing in pain as he looked warily at Chester’s enraged expression. “Stop.” He barely let out before Chester’s hand was twisting into his hair and slamming the back of his head into the tire’s hubcap. He let out a broken cry as he struggled, sounds of glass and yells sounding out as he roughly managed to muster enough strength to push Chester back with the full force of his arms and leg the other male stumbling backwards as he nearly fell over  
“You fucking totaled the car; do you know what you’ve done!?” Chester screamed aloud.  
Marron let out ragged breaths as he fell onto his knees head aching and pained as he felt nauseous from everything. He watched as Chester stepped closer to him, his breaths sped up as he covered his head clenching his eyes closed as the hearing in his left ear clicked into a numbing sound his forearm hurting from the blunt blow of Chester’s kick. 

“Hey knock it off!” A yell came out  
Marron leaned into the ground as he bit the inside of his mouth, bracing for another hit before his body startled at the soft press of arms on his back. “Marron!” His name was called, and he almost felt like crying as Freddy pushed his arms away and caressed his crest fallen face. A worried look stuck to Freddy’s expression as he gently rubbed at his cheek, holding his head in his hands. “Your eye, its red. What happened?” He asked. His answered was put on hold as he looked behind Freddy. Chester was being roughly held back by Ricardo as he kicked out his legs and struggled with his arms to get out of the hold.

Marron slid Freddy’s hands away from them as they both stood up “Let me go, don’t touch me!” Chester simply growled out as Ricardo faltered in his stance but held his grip on the male tightly as he could. “Just ease up dude!” Chester tangled around more as he bent forward to trip up Ricardo the both instead stumbling over each other’s feet as they fell onto the grass. Ricardo taking that moment to pin down Chester’s legs with his own and twist one of his arms behind his back.  
“What the fuck is wrong with you two!” Ricardo asked aloud.  
Marron and Freddy stood quiet as shuffles sounded from their right side, Ramsay stumbling onto the scene with a panicked look as he pointed at the other side of the car. “D-Dead! There’s dead people coming!”  
Everyone kicked into high gear at the notice, but no one moved more than Chester did; lifting onto his one forearm as Ricardo teetered on his back for a bit before a rough elbow was jammed into his side, pushing him over and onto the ground with pained grunt. The male then rushing past Ramsay who glanced back at Marron and Freddy who followed in suit.  
“Yeah, sure, just leave me behind you pricks!” Ricardo called out

Marron and Freddy turned around the back of the car quickly as they saw two screamers racing towards them with alarming speed, Freddy let out a noise as he ran towards Kennedy who was face first on the ground. Marron and Ramsay followed him into a crouch as they both looked over at Chester.  
The male had taken a stand, a gun pulled out as he aimed it calmly at the rushing screamers. Their cries ringing in their ears as pops of Chester’s gunfire rang out over their screams that turned into curdled sounds of blood. Both collapsing onto the ground as Chester let out a breath.  
Silence set in as Marron heard a light denting sound, from Ricardo holding himself up at the trunk of the car. Everyone turned their attention towards Chester who simply looked back at them all before raising his gun towards Marron. All the boys making startled sounds as Freddy moved in front of Marron with his arms stretched out.  
“Freddy, move.” Chester demanded.

“Dude knock it off! Put the gun down!” Ricardo yelled aloud.

“Chester, please!” Freddy pleaded as he stared intensely at the other.

Chester hardened his glare as he held the gun in Marron’s direction. “Freddy, I said move.”

“No! I won’t let you do this, just put the gun down and we can talk about it!’

“He screwed us over Freddy! CAN’T YOU SEE WHERE WE ARE!? The car is totaled! We’re barely near the next city, and even then, we don’t have the means to get there because of the mess behind you! So, let me put him down before he fucks up things more!”

Freddy held a shocked expression, everyone staring at Chester’s wild state.  
“S-sorry” Marron spoke from behind Freddy.  
Freddy moved his arms down as he put on a small smile. “Chester, think about this, put it down.’  
“No... If you cannot move, then I’ll just shoot through you.”

“NO!” Suddenly Ricardo lunged forward with alarming speed, crashing into Chester’s side as the shot rang out loudly, the bullet straying in a faraway direction as his balance was interrupted. Marron closed his eyes shut as Freddy covered his form with his own. Both relaxing their tense positions as Ricardo sat on top of Chester, pinning his arms down.  
“Let go!” He yelled at the other.

“Don’t touch me!” Chester retorted as he lifted his arms up, Ricardo doing his best to keep them down as he pressed his nails into his arm that held onto the gun. “Just calm down and stop this!” He yelled again. Ricardo faltered in his hold as Chester managed to get his arm out and pushed Ricardo onto his back roughly punching the other male on his lower jaw before getting up again. Freddy now being the one to stand in his way as he grabbed at his arms and held them up. “Just stop this!” he cried out.

Chester in his struggle felt his arm whip harshly and his hand naturally untense as he lost his grip on the gun. Freddy noticing this and quickly letting go of his arms to slap the gun out of his hand, feeling a brief amount of relief before his attention was startled by Chester gripping his hands around his neck. Choking him intensely.  
Marron had gotten up but stumbled back onto his knees as he was stunted by his injuries. He could only call Freddy’s name as the other scratched at Chester’s wrists  
“Ch-Chess-” He could barely breathe, his blood pumping in his ears as he felt his throat tighten.

The other male was only seeing red, coming to his senses only after Freddy had dug his nails into his skin to the point that blood peeked out. He quickly let his grip ease as Freddy fell to his knees, coughing and hacking for air as he held onto his neck.  
Chester held a bewildered expression as he brought his hands up to his face, Marron tried to stand up again as the other quickly turned away and walked up the hill to the road away from them all.  
Freddy let out a few shaky breaths as he tried to collect himself, he glanced behind him at Ricardo’s form. The other was plastered on his back, an arm slack over his face as he held still.  
“Rica-” He was surprised by the slight raspy tone that came from his voice, he tried to clear it, “Are you alright?” He asked.  
The other stayed quiet on the grass, only a small hand coming up to wave at him dismissively to indicate his condition. Freddy tried to swallow some saliva to wash his strained throat as he glanced over at everyone else. Marron simply sat poorly on his knees, Ramsay crumpled into Kennedy whose head rested on his lap, they both looked utterly lost.  
Freddy pursed his lips as he looked behind him up at the hill. 

“What now?”


End file.
